We present a short, inquiry-based learning course on concepts and methods underlying ordinary least squares (OLS), least absolute deviation (LAD), and quantile regression (QR). Students investigate squared, absolute, and weighted absolute distance functions (metrics) as location measures. Using differential calculus and properties of convex…

Compares Susan Smith's murder of her two children to a myth figure familiar to southwestern Mexican Americans, La llorna. Summarizes the La llorna story, in which the main character has all that is important taken from her, and kills her two children, later committing suicide to join them. Presents six different ways to dramatize the story. (PA)

Suggests students will view film adaptations of Shakespeare plays more critically by carefully analyzing the same scene from several different film versions. Discusses relevant scenes from "Romeo and Juliet" for classroom interpretation. Suggests that by providing students the vocabulary to discuss the film, educators can encourage them…

Describes an end-of-semester assignment used in business communication courses in which groups of students give final presentations comparing communication strategies of three companies in an industry. Notes that the techniques of creating and giving multimedia presentations are learned by students from each other. (SR)

The child's natural inclination to accept differences in others can be used in promoting an anthropological perspective. Language, the arts, and family life were all subjects which can be used to integrate anthropology into the curriculum. Describes anthropology-related activities for grades K-6. (CS)

Fourteen California teachers spent six weeks in Singapore and Indonesia in 1982 on a Fullbright/Hays travel tour. While the content of their tour is relatively easy to teach, the cross-cultural feeling-level experience is not. Suggests activities such as role-playing which might help cross-cultural learning. (CS)

The authors advocate that students frequently lack fundamental numerical literacy on the order of millions or billions, and that this comprehension is critical to grasping key evolutionary concepts related to the geologic time scale, the origin and diversification of life on earth, and other concepts such as the national debt, human population…

Outlines a classroom approach to studying the French national print media that focuses on the innovative style of headlines used on the front page of "Liberation," a French daily newspaper of growing current interest. (MSE)

Compares the effectiveness of two types of classroom vocabulary instruction with a noninstruction type homework assignment. (FL)

The wayang, Indonesia's traditional theater, provides insights into aspects of Indonesian history. It also gives insight into such areas as cultural diversity, tolerance for ambiguity, and ways of perception. How techniques of the wayang can be applied in the classroom to create better understanding of American culture is discussed. (CS)

Presents three assignment sequences--covering both canonical and noncanonical stories, mini-anthologies, and novels--that encourage secondary school students to think critically about the concept of literature. Notes that students can learn to analyze literature critically by comparing both canonical and noncanonical texts. (MM)

An author-study approach to children's literature provides students with a critical tool for text analysis. When students analyze an author's biography, interviews, and collection of work, they see writing as a powerful tool of personal expression. In this article, the author presents a week-to-week plan for analyzing multiple texts from one…

Reports on two common views of learning styles, and presents a set of activities to show how curriculum can reflect each learning style. Discusses a method for accommodating all learning styles. (MM)

Presents facts about a super-jumbo jet and poses 11 questions on different subjects, including estimation and comparison, concerning the super-jumbo jet. Gives hints and solutions for the answers to those questions. (ASK)

A discussion of communicative task-based second language learning looks at what differentiates a number of related classroom approaches: (1) two orientations, one focusing on learning-to-communicate and the other on communicating-to-learn; (2) emphasis on input, reception, and analysis in contrast to emphasis on communicative tasks; (3)…